This invention relates to the use of previously unused metals to manufacture a non-magnetic stabilizer for use in the rotary drilling of oil and gas wells. Previously such stabilizers were made of low alloy steels such as AISI 4140 which are suitable because they are strong, hard, have high fatigue failure characteristics and exhibit little wear when used in the drill string.
As is well known, stabilizers are used to stabilizer the drill string in that stabilizers prevent the "pendulum effect" or swinging of drill strings so as to prevent the drill bit from moving or drifting back and forth. Further, stabilizers are used in packed hole assemblies and are further used for proper maintenance of desired angles and directional drilling.
There are many examples of stabilizers including spiral, flat or straight and four bladed stabilizers such as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,285,678, U.S. Pat. No. 2,973,996, U.S. Pat. No. 3,454,305, U.S. Pat. No. 3,343,615, and U.S. Pat. No. 3,482,889.
It is also known to use non-magnetic alloy steels in drill strings; however, these low carbon non-magnetic steels do not have to have the characteristics that stabilizers do in that the stabilizer blades, by definition prevent wear and tear on the drill string by preventing the drill string from contacting the side of the well bore to thus prevent tubular wall sticking.
If it is desired to utilize electric and/or magnetic type well bore logging then the desirability of using non-magnetic drill strings is apparent; however, to date and as far as is presently known, no one has attempted to manufacture stabilizers, which presently are magnetic, of the types of metals set forth hereinbelow with the result that magnetic stabilizers used on non-magnetic drill collars causes distortion and drift of the well logging apparatus due to the magnetic characteristics of the magnetic stabilizers, which renders magnetic and/or electric well bore logging results inaccurate.